Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 5 restaurants with standout warm dishes

How about some hot pot.

Photo courtesy of Pop Pot

Winter 2019-2020 has been pretty mild in DFW so far. But February is looking to settle that score. Brrr it's cold.

Does eating warm food warm you up? Actually, no: The foods that raise your body temperature are those that take longer to digest — things like complex carbohydrates. Like oats.

That said, eating or drinking something hot is said to make you think you are warmer. So let's just go with stereotypical hearty dishes and call it a day.

For February Where to Eat, here are five Dallas restaurants with dishes to warm things up:

CrushCraft Thai
Tom kha gai, aka Thai coconut soup, is a dish with which you can almost never go wrong. It's a complex dish that combines so many sensations all at once: spicy and sour, filling yet light, delicate yet bursting with flavor, with coconut milk serving as a medium to pull it all together. And most of Dallas' Thai restaurants are good at what they do. CrushCraft in Uptown is one of the most centrally located, and their version of this classic is especially delectable, thanks to its potent dose of seasonings and fresh ingredients, balanced by the richness of the coconut milk. If only they didn't use plastic utensils. C'mon, CrushCraft, get us some silver.

Eddie Napoli's
This small, loosely-connected chain dishes out Italian-American standards in unpretentious locations in Frisco, Garland, and Plano. The concept was founded in Amarillo a decade ago by Enver "Eddie" Kolenovic, aka Chef Eddie, aka Chef Eddie Kola, and the locations are owned by various friends and family. They have many minor variations on the name be it Eddies Napoli's, Eddie's Napoli's, or Eddie's Napolis. Eddie's owners, get your stories straight.

Like many "Italian" restaurants around DFW, the background here is actually Albanian, which has not always been a positive force on the local Italian restaurant scene. But in this case, the food is decent, with hearty pastas and respectable pizzas where the crust is made in house, not too thin, not too thick, with a nice browned edge; and fresh spinach is a topping option. One great and informal dish to order: garlic knots with a side of marinara sauce for dipping. Very warming.

Lakewood Smokehouse
Easygoing neighborhood spot in Lakewood Shopping Center is loved by the locals for its commendable barbecue, sandwiches, wings, pizza, and queso, including one noteworthy queso doctored up with brisket. That's not even getting into the long list of Texas beers on tap as well as craft cocktails.

Like many restaurants, they do chili — but not just any chili. This is a chili made with Prime brisket that's been smoked for 14 hours, then simmered with tomatoes and Shiner bock and 14 spices, layered in while it cooks. You can get it in a bowl, or get it piled onto a baked potato topped with melted cheese, scallions, and sour cream.

Pop Pot & Tea
Small spot inside the food court at the 99 Ranch Mart in Frisco is a hidden find. It's counter service, and maybe that's why it's a pleasant surprise to find that they do hot pots, both in individual size or bigger versions to share, where you get a bowl of steaming broth that's filled with ingredients that cook while you watch. The presentation is cool (but a bit dangerous): The pot is served atop a box that holds a charcoal fire. When your order is called, you need to ferry it verrry carefully to your table, where it will continue to cook.

You can choose from their pre-set options or customize your ingredients from a selection that includes seafood, beef, tofu, vegetables, noodles, and more. If that's not warming enough for you, they also have crunchy fried brown rice cakes and the rare Chinese fermented treat called stinky tofu, which comes with plenty of Chinese pickled cabbage. That'll warm you up for sure.

Spiral Diner
Gumbo, Louisiana's favorite stew, makes for a quintessential good cold-weather dish, and thanks to a strong Cajun presence in our local restaurant scene, there are no shortage of options. For a novel twist, consider a vegan version, now being offered by DFW's most famous vegan restaurant, available throughout the month of February.

Their "Old Fashioned File Gumbo" has okra, carrots, celery, vegan sausage, and a new item for the mini-chain: vegan "shrimp" by Plants Lead Our Way, an Austin-based company that sells amazing vegan versions of meats and cheese. The gumbo boasts a Creole roux with hints of sassafras and cayenne, and is served over a bed of rice. It's available at all three Spiral Diner locations: Dallas, Fort Worth, and Denton.

where-to-eat

new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

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A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

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